Murphy, won the 2019 China Championship
With the 2020 World Snooker Championships just around the corner, let's review the performances of the world's top 16 seeded players in the 2019/20 season. Following the question of the world's top 16 status a year ago, Sean Murphy's season was undoubtedly a success overall.
Text/ David Caufield, Snooker HQ
"Magician" Murphy's achievements this season are hard to erase, and he managed to engrave his name on the two ranking championship trophies.
In last summer's international championship final, Murphy lost to Judd Trump, the sixth consecutive obstacle to hitting the ranking title; however, the 37-year-old former world champion quickly regrouped, beating Mark Williams 10-9 in the dramatic final of the China Championship and then regaining his crown at the Welsh Open in the second half of the season.
Murphy, won the 2020 Welsh Open
In the 2019/20 season, Murphy was regularly present in the final stages of the tournament, reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters, reaching the final four at the Masters in London, the German Masters in Berlin and the Players Championship in Southport. The only "major flaw" of the season was at the British Championship in York, where he unexpectedly lost to Eden Sharaf in the first round and was out early.
Murphy has earned £383,000 in this season's rankings, second only to Judd Trump in the single-season rankings. Murphy's performance in the 2019/20 season proved that he will be a strong contender for the 2020 World Championship title before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the impact of the pandemic lockdown on the state is a big question for many players to answer.
In the Tour Championship, which was rescheduled to last month, Murphy showed great offensive firepower, equaling the record of 17 innings and 9 wins with a 6-stroke breaker, and in this match he lost to Mark Allen in the decider and missed the semi-finals. The 2005 world champion may have appeared as the strongest opponent, but other aspects of his technique are sometimes unsatisfactory, and stability is an important factor in his distance.
Murphy, runner-up of the 2019 Shanghai Masters
Three-time World Championship finalist, Murphy knows the point of doing well at the Crucible Theatre, but after losing to Stewart Bingham in the 2015 final, Murphy won just two games at the prestigious arena.
At the 2020 World Snooker Championships, Murphy's signature zone 4/4 still has many strong players such as Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins, which means that even if Murphy successfully passes the first round, the road to advancement will be full of difficulties. On the other hand, if Murphy can show the super ability that he has repeatedly displayed this season, he will also become a strong opponent that no player wants to face.